1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a resist composition, a resist pattern-forming method, and a resist solvent.
2. Discussion of the Background
A reduction in dimensions of a resist pattern used for a lithographic process has been desired along with miniaturization of various electronic device (e.g., semiconductor device and liquid crystal device) structures, and various resist compositions have been studied. A resist composition is normally designed so that an acid is generated in the exposed area upon application of exposure light (e.g., deep ultraviolet rays (e.g., ArF excimer laser light) or electron beams), and a difference in dissolution rate in a developer occurs between the exposed area and the unexposed area due to the catalytic effect of the acid. A resist pattern is formed on a substrate utilizing the difference in dissolution rate.
The resist composition is required to exhibit excellent resolution and the like, and produce a highly accurate pattern with high process stability. Therefore, the resist composition is required to exhibit excellent lithographic performance (e.g., line width roughness (LWR) performance and critical dimension uniformity (CDU) performance), produce a resist pattern that shows only a small number of defects, exhibit excellent applicability (e.g., halation, peeling, repelling, and the like rarely occur when the resist composition is applied to a silicon film or the like, and the resist composition can be applied in only a small amount), and exhibit excellent storage stability (e.g., a foreign substance does not occur, and the sensitivity can be maintained even when the resist composition is stored for a long time), for example.
In order to satisfy the above requirements, each component of the resist composition, and various solvents used for the resist composition have been studied (see Japanese Patent Application Publication (KOKAI) No. 7-261377 and Japanese Patent Application Publication (KOKAI) No. 2002-268206).